Update, October 2026: these flights no longer exist
I flew this in November 2018, and a lot has changed since. Hong Kong Airlines ended its Los Angeles flights in February 2020, and it returned the last of its six A350-900s to the lessor in August 2023, so the plane and the seat in this review are no longer flying with the airline. It came back to North America in January 2025 with a Vancouver route flown on an A330-300, so read this as a record of what the airline was flying in 2018.
I booked the Hong Kong Airlines mistake fare a few months back like many others did. A round trip business class flight from my home airport to Asia on a new A350, all for under $600 round trip, was just too good to pass up. I booked me and my wife for the flight leaving on the Thanksgiving holiday to maximize our vacation days.
I didn’t go through the normal LAX departure route, so I won’t be able to speak on the check-in, lounge, or general boarding process. I was lucky to have access to a special, private lounge and we were driven to the airplane after a private TSA checkpoint.
Also, since the flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok was only 3 hours and was also on an A350, I’ve decided to combine both reviews into this post. Make sure you read to the end, because the two experiences felt very different.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – LAX-HKG on HX69
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – Seats
I was able to get some good video and pictures since we were one of the first ones on the plane. The seats are very similar to the layout you see on many other airlines like Etihad, ANA, and others. Every seat offers direct-aisle access, but there are several variations to each seat.
There are two different types of window seats: an “aisle” window seat that is right on the aisle and further from the windows; and a “true” window seat that’s next to the window and offers more privacy. The “true” window seats are by far superior, not just because of the privacy, but because there are additional padded areas next to the footrest and on the sides when in bed mode. This extra padding, especially in the foot area, is a very useful addition rather than letting the space go to waste like airlines do.
In the center section are also two different layouts: either the “honeymoon” seats that are right next to each other and better for those traveling with a companion, and seats that are separated and closer to the aisle.
For either the “window aisle” seat or “center aisle” seat, keep in mind the footrests are open on the aisle side. That means your feet can hang out into the aisle and potentially be hit by carts or people walking by if they happen to be over the edge. All seats have storage underneath, but flight attendants will ask you to move items stored there to the overhead bins prior to take-off or landing.
Every seat had a pillow, blanket, and slippers at them in addition to headphones. They weren’t noise-cancelling headphones but the A350 is so quiet that airplane noise isn’t a big issue. The only problem you’ll have is with noise from other passengers – it was quiet enough that I could hear snoring and conversations.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – Lunch Service
A flight attendant came around to offer a glass of juice or water once more passengers started to arrive. The purser then came around to introduce herself and provide menus for the flight. She let us know that lunch would be served right after take-off, and the other meal would be served two hours prior to landing. She also mentioned that snacks would be available throughout the flight.
Another flight attendant came to offer an amenity kit, and later we also received a bottle of water. Our lunch and drink orders were taken just prior to takeoff, and after takeoff we received a hot towel. The towel was actually warm on the inside and cold on the edges.
The food service started very quickly after a bit of light turbulence, and overall I’d say the service was very uneven. Some people received nuts, and others (like me) did not. The salad and salmon dish came out first. The salad was as you’d expect and came with balsamic dressing, and I thought the salmon was very good…and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like salmon all that much. The tray came with some butter, a glass of water, salt & pepper, and a piece of chocolate. My Diet Pepsi didn’t come out until afterwards, but I did not have to remind the flight attendant about it.
After I finished, another FA asked if I wanted the Chinese-style chicken soup. I said yes, and it was brought out quickly. When the flight attendant set it down on my tray table he said “be careful, it’s very hot.” When I had my first spoon, I blew on it to cool it down…then found out the soup was actually lukewarm and not hot at all. Despite that it was actually pretty good and would have been better if it were hot.
My bowl was cleared and the main course was brought out quickly. I opted for the vegetarian option because the other items didn’t sound appetizing to me. The meal was alright – not good or bad. My wife had the lamb chops and she also didn’t find that dish to be particularly good.
My bread plate sat empty all this time, as did my neighbor’s. I found this to be particularly odd because I saw a flight attendant carrying bags of bread through the cabin several times. Only after I and the others finished the main course were we offered bread. There were several options including garlic, multigrain, and others. Unfortunately there was no pretzel bread, which is my favorite.
I mentioned earlier that the food service was uneven. What I mean by that is that each person’s plates were picked up as they finished, so flight attendants were often going all over the cabin rather than in order from front to back. In theory this personalized service is great, but in a relatively large business class cabin like this one, it meant that people were sometimes getting fast service and sometimes getting slow service.
Personally, my first three courses came out very quickly, but I had to wait about 20 minutes or more for my main course to be picked up and dessert to be brought out. Eventually someone came to pick up my main course and take my dessert order. I usually don’t do cheese so it was down to ice cream or the tart. After all that time waiting, I saw my neighbor trying one of each (she was with a companion). She was laughing as she tapped on the ice cream with her spoon, which was frozen solid. The tart she was trying looked much more appetizing so that’s what I went with. I didn’t think it was very good and would pass on it next time.
Lunch was done quickly, just two hours into the flight nearly all dessert plates were picked up. In summary, the meal service was warm and flight attendants were well-meaning. They were genuinely doing their best and provided service with a smile, so I have no issues with the flight attendants at all. I would refer to the food quality as average and something they can improve on. The way the meal service was conducted also looked like it left everyone wanting more as sometimes it was quick but sometimes there were long delays between courses. It certainly didn’t help that the entire cabin was full on this Thanksgiving holiday.
We were offered another hot towel after the meal service was completed. This time the towel was hot, but mine was nearly dripping wet. Who knew a hot towel was so hard to get right? I suppose it’s just a little thing that I had taken for granted on previous flights.
I decided to check out the snack selection in the galley prior to going to bed. I found a couple of baskets (I didn’t take a picture) that contained some bags of pretzels, trail mix, pieces of fruit like apples and pears, and some small chocolates. I had the trail mix and a chocolate since my first meal wasn’t very satisfying.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – Bed
After the meal service I watched a movie I’d already seen (the movie selection was decent but not extensive, I’d say about 20-30 Hollywood movies plus a few TV shows). After that I decided I should try to get some sleep to help offset some jetlag that was bound to hit me in Asia.
The bed is very nice, and really one of the larger beds you’ll find in business class but only if you snag a “true” window seat. Those extra areas on the side make such a big difference, and I found the bed to be good for taller people as well. The seat is a bit firm when used as a bed, but I didn’t think it was a big issue.
The blanket that was provided is like many other airline blankets. It’s somewhat lightweight and not very large. I’m not a big guy and the blanket was barely was enough to cover me. The cabin temperature seemed to fluctuate frequently as sometimes it felt cold and sometimes hot but definitely tended towards being hot. I had to keep one leg outside the blanket to compensate for these temperature fluctuations.
The pillow was the biggest annoyance for me. I found it to be fine for support while sitting but way too fluffy/stiff for sleeping. This might just be my personal preference, but my neck was definitely a little sore after getting up later.
This was the first time I’d flown the new A350, and the most noticeable difference to me is how quiet the plane is. I always found the A380 to be quiet and the 787 as well to a lesser extent, but I feel this A350 was on a different level. I’m not sure how I feel about that, because the quiet meant that I could hear everything happening in the cabin.
This of course was most noticeable when I tried to sleep. It was hard enough to sleep during day time at home, but add on every conversation, every snore, every rustling bag of pretzels, every piece of silverware hitting a plate, and the lack of engine noise to drown it out…and it didn’t make for an easy time sleeping.
I drifted in and out of sleep for a few hours and woke up about 2.5 hours prior to landing, just as the flight attendant was taking orders for the pre-landing meal.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – Pre-Landing Meal
At the beginning of the flight we were told the pre-landing meal would be served two hours prior to landing, and orders were taken 2.5 hours prior to landing. The choices for the meals were two chicken items, and I went with the udon noodles. After ordering I decided to take this time to change back into my normal street clothes to avoid the inevitable mad rush to the lavatories prior to landing.
The meal service started about 2:10 prior to landing. Like with lunch, the first course was brought out without bread and without the drink. I find this to be a bit odd because usually it’s the opposite on a majority of other airlines. Usually those airlines serve the drink first while the meal is prepared, and then top you off after bringing you the meal.
This time, however, the drinks and bread were brought out quickly after the first course was given. The first course was a bowl of fruit, and the dessert item was already on the tray as well. The fruit was good, though the portion was small.
Very quickly after that the main course of udon noodles was brought out. From what I could tell, everyone around me ordered the same item. It was a good choice – this was by far the best thing I ate on the flight.
The dessert was already on the tray and was nothing special, but I did finish the whole thing. I think it was more because I was still a bit hungry rather than the dessert itself being particularly good. It’s a rarity to be in a premium cabin and still feel hungry after the meal, but that’s how I felt on both meals on this flight.
And just like that, the meal service was completed. My tray table was picked up promptly and I was offered another drink. Meal service lasted no more than 25 minutes from start to finish, which was even more efficient than the first meal service.
There was about 1:45 left in the flight after most meals were picked up, which is plenty of time for everyone to get ready for landing. The lavatories were still mostly occupied until landing, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if the meal service finished closer to landing. I think the timing and efficiency was perfect.
Service again was excellent. The flight attendants are all very thoughtful and do everything with a smile. If I had to nitpick I’d say there are only a couple of minor items to improve on. One area for improvement are with the order in which they serve – I think giving the bread and drinks earlier in the meal makes more sense. The other is with the size of the glasses – I found them to be small and I was asking for refills throughout the flight.
The food items themselves were kind of hit-or-miss. The lunch items were no better than average, but the udon noodles prior to landing were excellent. Portion sizes were small. This is by far where the airline can improve the most. If they can improve the catering, this would end up as a spectacular flight.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – HKG-BKK on HX761
We had a short layover at the Hong Kong airport, after which we got back on another Hong Kong Airlines A350 headed for Bangkok. The seats were exactly the same so I won’t go through a review of that again. At this point I was actually very sleepy and normally would have just slept during the entire 3 hour flight, but I wanted to see how consistent the airline was (and also have material for this review), so I stayed awake. I’m glad I did.
The service on this flight was substantially better than I received on the LAX-HKG leg. I don’t think it had anything to do with the flight attendants necessarily as the last ones were also good. The difference, it seemed, came down to how full the cabin was. On the last flight it was full, and on this flight it was less than half full.
That’s not the only thing that was different. There was a dinner service, and I went with the chicken. I noticed also that the dessert was the same as I had on the last flight. Unlike the last flight, this time I was brought out a ramekin of nuts and my drink. Recall I never received nuts last time and my drink didn’t come until after the first course.
The flight was shorter so the meal service was also abbreviated, and that meant they brought out all three courses on the tray at the same time. There were a couple of things that were very different than before. The first thing that caught my eye was the dessert – it looked completely different than what I had on the last leg despite being the same description. This one looked way better, and had that gourmet look to it.
The second is that the plates and bowls all had the Hong Kong Airlines flower logo on them. In fact, even the salt & pepper shakers did. The last flight had simple white dishes that look like a school cafeteria by comparison. The bread was brought out very quickly after the rest of the food, which again was unlike the previous flight.
The fruit was good but the chicken dish I had wasn’t – I had only a few bites and would certainly not order it again. The dessert was actually delicious, and it was nothing like the last one I had despite the description being the same.
Throughout the service I was asked if I wanted refills or anything else. The service was simply top-notch and I had no complaints. I didn’t think the service of the last flight was bad by any means, but it was simply so much better on this flight. The empty seats on this leg definitely made a noticeable difference.
The meal service was completed quickly and I made sure to get some sleep. Yet again I found another difference from the previous flight: the pillow was much more to my liking. It was softer and flatter as opposed to the hard/fluffy one of the previous flight. I was able to sleep easily without any issues to my neck this time.
So basically, nearly every issue I had with the LAX-HKG leg of the flight was corrected or improved on the second leg from HKG-BKK. The only thing left I would want improved is the catering, which could use some improvement.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Review – Summary
These flights reminded me a lot of what EVA Airways was a few years ago. That is, an airline with a good seat and flight attendants that provided good service, but also needs some refining in terms of food quality, consistency, and other minor items. EVA Airways today is a significantly improved airline, one that provides pajamas in business class and gives excellent service, and I hope Hong Kong Airways can develop into that as well.
Frankly, I had never heard of Hong Kong Airways prior to this mistake fare. Everyone assumed this was a budget airline as their prices were and are lower than competitors like Cathay Pacific, but this doesn’t seem like a budget airline to me. They’re flying one of the newest commercial planes in the sky, the seats are one of the best business class seats I’ve sat in (as long as you get the “true” window seat), and the flight attendants were genuinely good. I would be happy to fly them again, though I admit I likely won’t unless they join an airline alliance. Here’s hoping they join Skyteam!
There were a couple of minor service lapses that could happen on any airline. After I had my trail mix and chocolate mid-flight on the first leg, the bag and wrapper were left on my side table for a solid 6+ hours. They weren’t picked up until after the final meal service when the purser was walking the cabin.
The other items I mentioned might simply come down to my personal preferences. The order in which the meals were served and the pillow stiffness were relatively minor, but I find it’s those small touches that can make the difference between a “standard” flight and a fantastic one. It was better on the second flight, so this just comes down to consistency for me.
If you have a Hong Kong Airlines Business Class trip coming up, whether from the mistake fare or not, I would say you’re in for a treat. I would rank this as yet another great way to get to Asia, and I would even put it on par with Cathay Pacific if you’re flying to Hong Kong as I find these seats to be superior.
I won’t be reviewing the return leg for a while as I booked it for April 2019, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the experience is different. As it stands now, I think cabin occupancy rates are the most important factor. The less full your Business Class cabin is, the better your service will be.
